Academic Standards for Progression

1. All students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 and can repeat a course with an unsatisfactory grade in accord with the program-specific terms below. Students are not permitted to repeat a course for which they have received a passing grade.  

• MSN (Entry into Nursing) students will be required to repeat a course if they earn a grade below a C- (70%). Students can repeat one course one time. 
• MSN, DNP Advanced Practice, and DNP Executive students will be required to repeat a course if they earn a grade below a B- (80%). Students can repeat one course one time. 
• PhD students will be required to repeat a core course if they earn a grade below a B (83%) for core nursing courses, and a grade below a C (73%) in core courses taken outside the School of Nursing (i.e. biostatistics).  PhD students can repeat core courses one time. 

2. All students taking NR.210.606 Biostatistics for Evidence-Based Practice , NR.400.717 Application of Biostatistical Methods for Evidence-Based Practice, NR.210.608 The Research Process and Its Application to Evidence-Based Practice , and NR.400.719 Application of the Research Process to Evidence-Based Practice can earn a C- in one of these courses without needing to repeat. If a student earns a C+, C, or C- for both courses, they must repeat one of the two and may not repeat any other course in the program.

3. DNP Nurse Anesthesia students can earn a C- in NR.210.670 Human Anatomy without needing to repeat the course.   

4. Students will be dismissed from the program at any time if it is mathematically impossible to attain a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the end of the academic program.  

5. If a student does not need to repeat a course but has a cumulative GPA below 3.0, the student will be placed on academic probation, suspended, dismissed, and/or be subject to other conditions. 

6. MSN Entry into Nursing students may not progress to new semester coursework if all previous semester coursework is not successfully completed. 

7. In the event the student is on probation for more than two consecutive semesters because the cumulative GPA remains below a 3.0, the student may be suspended, dismissed, and/or be subject to other conditions, whether or not it is mathematically possible to achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.0 by the time of graduation.  

8. When a student needs to repeat a course to continue in their respective program of study: 

• Student will be placed on academic probation and remain so until the course has been successfully completed. 
• Student must take and pass the course the next time it is offered.   
• Student may not be able to progress in the program if the course is a prerequisite for subsequent course(s) and/or there is a gap in semester(s) between the next available course offering.  
• Student must notify the Office of Financial Aid of any delay in progression.  

• The student should meet with their advisor regarding the course grade(s).  The student can formulate a written statement to submit to the committee about past grades and performance if program dismissal is a possible outcome. This letter should be sent privately to the advisor. The advisor should present the letter to the committee members during the meeting.  
• As the student representative, the advisor can also verbally present additional relevant information at the Progressions Committee meeting. 
• The student will receive a letter from the Progressions Committee Chair outlining the committee's decision. 
• A student may appeal decisions of the Progressions Committee in writing to the School of Nursing Executive Vice Dean within 10 business days of the Progressions Committee letter. The student’s statement will set forth the grounds for the appeal. The Executive Vice Dean will have access to documents reviewed during the Progressions Committee hearing. The Executive Vice Dean will send a written response to the student. The student may appeal the decision of the Executive Vice Dean to the Dean in writing within 10 business days of the Executive Vice Dean’s letter. The decision of the Dean will be final. The Progressions Committee will be notified of any appeal decisions. 

Time to completion

Students must complete the required course work within the time periods specified below:

SON - Time Perioods

Coursework	Time Period
MSN, Entry to Practice	5 years from matriculation
MSN, Specialty Students	6 years from matriculation
MSN, Specialty/MBA Students	6 years from matriculation
Certificate Students	3 years from matriculation
DNP, Advanced Practice Students	6 years from matriculation
DNP Executive Students	6 years from matriculation
DNP, Executive/MBA Students	6 years from matriculation
DNP, Executive/MPH Students	6 years from matriculation
PhD Students	7 years from matriculation
DNP/PhD Students	8 years from matriculation